Philippine citizens who are residents of another country or working overseas who maintain their Philippine citizenship

Philippine dual citizens

Natural-born Philippine dual citizens (Those born with a Philippine and foreign citizenship as a result of the concurrent application of the laws of the Philippines and a foreign country which consider one a citizen of each country, e.g., those born to a Filipino and foreign parent).

Natural-born Philippine citizens who subsequently acquire foreign citizenship involuntarily (i.e., without undergoing foreign naturalization, e.g., marrying a foreign national whose country automatically considers the Philippine spouse its own citizen) and who have not renounced their Philippine citizenship by any act or omission.

Natural-born Philippine citizens who voluntarily opted to acquire foreign citizenship but eventually chose to reacquire their natural-born Philippine citizenship status under the Philippine Citizenship Reacquisition Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9225), regardless of whether or not they have renounced their previous foreign citizenship.

There are no area limits on the ownership by Philippine citizens of non-agricultural private land. Private agricultural land acquisition must not exceed a combined total of 5 hectares (50,000 square meters).

Philippine corporations whose capital stock is 60% Filipino-owned

There are no area limits on the ownership by Philippine corporations of non-agricultural private land. Philippine corporations may lease, but not own, public agricultural land not exceeding 1,000 hectares for two 25-year periods and own private agricultural land not exceeding a combined total of 5 hectares (50,000 square meters).

Those entitled to own property under limited conditions

Natural-born Philippine citizens who voluntarily opted to acquire foreign citizenship through naturalization, thereby renouncing their Philippine citizenship, and who do not choose to reacquire Philippine citizenship

Unlike Philippine citizens, former Philippine citizens who are natural-born Filipinos* are only entitled to own either 5,000 square meters of urban land or 3 hectares (30,000 square meters) of rural land in the Philippines for business or other purposes. The land that may be acquired shall not be more than two parcels situated in different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines and shall not exceed the stated area limitations. Anyone who has Already acquired urban land is disqualified from further acquiring rural land and vice versa. In the case of a married couple, the total land area that they are allowed to purchase cannot exceed the above-stated limitations.

Foreign citizens and corporations

Foreign citizens and corporations may acquire and own condominium units where the common area is owned by a condominium corporation, 60% of which is Filipino-owned. They cannot directly acquire and own land in the Philippines except through intestate hereditary succession, i.e., inheritance by operation of Philippine laws on intestate succession and not by testate (through a will or testament) succession. They may, however, indirectly own land by subscribing to a Philippine corporation the capital stock of which is 60% Filipino-owned. They may also lease private land for a maximum of two 25-year periods.

Foreign citizens and corporations investing in the Philippines may lease private land for a 50-year period extendible for another 25 years.

A natural-born Philippine citizen is one who does not have to do anything to acquire Philippine citizenship, in contrast to a naturalized Philippine citizen who has to go through a naturalization process to acquire Philippine citizenship.

Pasig City RTC Branch 167 Judge Roberto Mislang, in a six-page letter sent to the high court last Wednesday, denied allegations in the administrative complaint filed against him by state-run Home Development Mutual Fund (PAG-IBIG Fund) for “grave misconduct and grave ignorance of the law" for issuing last Aug. 26 a TRO enjoining the Department of Justice (DOJ) from filing a syndicated estafa case against GA executives.

The RTC judge explained that the TRO and the succeeding writ of preliminary injunction he issued in favor of GA president Delfin Lee and others charged were “in conformity to both rules and jurisprudence."

Mislang maintained that he “did not act with undue haste, much less with grave abuse of discretion in issuing the TRO but acted in good faith and in accordance with his solemn duty to dispose of matters pending before him with reasonable promptness."

Prejudicial question

Mislang said he issued his orders based upon the clearly established existence of a prejudicial question raised in a separate pending civil suit filed by GA in Makati RTC Branch 58, involving the housing developer’s bid to compel PAG-IBIG Fund to comply with various agreements allowing it to update defaulting accounts with payments or replace the defaulting PAG-IBIG borrowers with new ones.

Citing the injunction he had issued last Sept.5, the judge said: “The refusal of respondent (DOJ) to suspend its proceedings pending resolution of the prejudicial question in the civil case is a clear violation of petitioner’s right."

He explained that the TRO and injunction were necessary to protect petitioner Lee from “serious and irreparable damage" should the DOJ proceed with his criminal indictment without necessary resolution of the prejudicial question in the civil case.

Judicial protocol vs. sub judice rule

Mislang said the “higher mandate of judicial protocol viz. sub judice rule" should have tempered top government officials, including Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Francis Pangilinan and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

“As lawyers, they appear to have totally forgotten the very fundamental and elementary principle of separation of powers, professing their views evidently based on misinformation as gospel truth and supplanting their executive/legislative opinions over judicial discretion," he said.

The PAG-IBIG Fund sought to have Judge Mislang investigated on alleged violation of Article 206 (issuance of unjust order) and Article 207 (malicious delay in administration of justice) of the Revised Penal Code, as well as Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

PAG-IBIG Fund alleged that Mislang had acted in “evident bad faith and malice" and demonstrated when he issued the TRO “despite Mr. Lee already admitting filing a similar Petition to Suspend Proceedings dated 27 January 2011 based on a supposed prejudicial question before the DOJ Panel of Prosecutors and that the same has already been denied." — MRT/VS, GMA News

Let me tell you from the start you don’t need a real estate agent to help you buy a home. However, having a real estate agent representing your needs in buying a home is a wise decision. Here are a few tips on what to look for in hiring a real estate agent and what things to try to avoid.

Tip #1: Specialization in the area you want.

Like doctors, lawyers and other professionals, some real estate agents specialize in their field. There are as many specializations in the field as you can imagine. A few examples are commercial properties, farming, retail, management, and residential – those selling homes.

You want to find an agent that specializes in what you are looking to buy. For example: If you wanted to by a farm, you would want an agent that has experience marketing and selling farms. Someone savvy in the field can give you an edge in finding and negotiating a good deal. Those people who have the most experience in the area know what decisions are advantageous and which ones are not.

Tip #2: Training, Certifications, and Memberships in the area you want.

There are many professional organizations and certifications that one can belong or earn to demonstrate professionalism and specialized training. The largest and best know professional organization is The National Association of Realtors. (www.Realtor.org) Being a Realtor entitles the agent access to specialized training, research material, marketing and selling tools, but more than anything else it means that the real estate agent needs to abide by a strict code of ethics.

The National Association of Realtors has several affiliated groups of interest to those selling or buying homes. One is the Council of Residential Specialist (www.CRS.com) that awards a Certified Residential Specialist – CSR, designation. This is specialization tells the public that the person is an expert selling and marketing homes – (residential properties). The other is the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council - REBAC (www.REBAC.net) that awards the Accredited Buyer’s Representative – ABR. The ABR designation tells the public that the agent has specialized skills and training working especially with Buyers and helping them find and purchase their home.

Tip #3: Hire an Experienced Agent.

Finding a real estate agent with general experience is good, but finding one with specific and local experience is better. It has been said that all real estate is local. That is why someone that has their finger on the local pulse of the market is able to provide local, inside information on what is happening in the real estate market that someone not familiar with the local market might miss.

Just being licensed and not knowing the local market puts the real estate agent, and you, at a disadvantage. Simply said, you want to pick someone that has worked the areas where you want to buy.

Tip #4: Someone that Knows How to Negotiate Well.

Once you find a home, negotiating to buy the house is next. This is where having someone with good negotiating skills is an asset.

It has been said that the key to a successful negotiation is knowledge. The agent can easily research many valuable items. Such as: Determining if the property is priced correctly. Finding out how long it has been on the market – too long may mean there are problems. The search may lead to finding out the property is in default or over-encumbered where the sale may require doing a Short Sale. This implies the Seller needs to quickly sell the property and may be willing to look at low price offers. Such information discovered can significantly help in the negotiations.

Lastly, a good negotiating real estate agent is dispassionate about buying the property. The goal is simply to help you get the best deal in buying your home. Let us say you want to offer $5,000 less than the asking price. Your real estate agent can determine if making an offer for $5,000 less will work. Who knows you might get your dream home for $5,000 less!

What to Avoid

#1 Avoid having a family member act as your agent… Problems and issues always arise and they can spill into the family relationship. You want to avoid this.

#2 Avoid agents with less than a few years experience… It is good to give people their start, but their lack of experience and knowledge may cost you lost opportunities in negotiating a good deal.

#3 Avoid agents who are too busy… When buying real estate it’s important to hire a real estate agent that has the time for you. If you have to constantly deal with their assistant, you may want to reconsider hiring someone else.

#4 Avoid agents not familiar with the area of your interest… Knowledge is power and the lack leads to lost opportunities and costly mistakes.

#5 Avoid listing agents representing the seller… This, I believe, is a conflict of interest. Let me ask you this: Would you hire a lawyer to represent you and the person you want to sue.

#6 Check references… Check with the local real estate association to see about their licensing status and about any complaints filed.

#7 Avoid real estate agents with weak negotiating skills… Ask to speak with former clients to see how well they negotiated on their behalf. This will enable you to get a good idea if they were strong or weak negotiators.

The most important factor is working with someone you like and has a personality that works well with you. If you are not comfortable with the person representing you the stressful process of buying a home becomes more stressful. I strongly recommend working with someone you like, and someone you feel you can trust.